The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-01-09
BORDER RUSTLERS.
Lively Picture of Smuggling
Along the Rio Grande.
VERY DESPERATE CLASS
Outlaws Who Defy Any Authoritf--
Exciting Incidents of Their Fierce
u-- and Turbulent Life.

Along the Rio Grande, between
Brownsville and Laredo, is the national
home of anarchy on this continent,
writes Rio Grsnde City correspondent
of the St. Louis Globe-DemOcrat. Two
governments meet in the middle of
good.szed stream, and neither makes a
serious effort to enforce its authoritj in
its own territory. The result is the con
centration along the river of as pictures
Que a set of desperadoes as can befound
in the world. Smuggling is the aVowed
occupation of these people, but the theft
of cattle and horses is really their most
lucrative industry.
The country on both sides of the river
sparsely settled. In Texas the Rio
Grande counties are as large as eastern
States. OF course, there is a nice tax
eating establishment t each county
seat, but, except in rare cases, the ex
cution of the law outside OF the towns is
| unknown. Occasionally q squat of
| Texas rangers marches down The river
| from Doredof but at such times the
greater portion, if not all, the male po
pulation has pressing business on the
| Mexican side OF the river. Occasionally.
too, a company of Mexican troops or
band of customhouse guards lounge
along the rlvtr from Nuevo Laredo to
Camargo, or from Brownsville to Cam
argo, and then the Mexit an cdbelLerOS of
the border become the guests of their
| Texas cOmpGnerOS on the American side
| 3 IL. An hoN
although race bitterness, national hat
reds, ard prof. essional jealousies exist
| between the tribes diVioed by the Rio
Grande, often to a sanguinary degree,
when the natural enemy, the law Off
GERS of either government, made their
appearance, feuds are stopped and all
unite to resist, deceive, mislead. or, if
necessary, murder the intruders.
About three months ago a party of
select rustlers, having their headquar-
tiers in Frio county, Texas, crossed over
to Mexico on a horse-steailng expedi-
ton. They raided ranch about thirty
miles from the border, killed three men,
captured about forty horses, and were
heading for home in triumph with their
booty when they were intercepted by a
party of Mexican rustlers on the south
| bank of the river. A fierce fight ensued.
A couple of dashing freebooters on both
sides bit the dust, many were wounded =,
and the affair promised 10 result like the
encounter between the Kilkenny cats, in
both sides getting cleaned up. Just at
the height of the melee, as Winchesters
were cracking, pistols popping, wounded
men grooming, aud fifty angry men
swearing in two languages bent on kill
ing each other, detachment of Mexi
can cavalry dashed up. Before the new
arrivals had time to lake in the situa-
ton the combatants ce sed fighting
A most by impulse coup of men IRON
both factions retrested with the stolen
horses, and the main body of both pro-
Get ded to pump lead into the cavalry
men. The latter return, the fire bu;
the desperanOeS were N, Re than three to
one, and after leaving three dead and
TWO wounded comrads, the command
ing officer among the latter, the cavalry
detachment skipped, rather than re-
treated, to Camargo. This Is no. all.
When the cavalrymen were we'll out of
the way the desperadoes resumed their
fl INT and kept it up until mai Y n both
sides were killed, and tie ammunition
almost exhausted. 1t will perhaps
crafty American national pride to
learn that the American robbers sue
ceeded in bringing the horses to this side
of the river and holding on to them.
Fierce fights between the rustlers are
| frequent. 1t seems 10 be an understood
canon of their creed that pillage by one,
or By any faction is the booty of all.
| This, however, is qualified. If four or
! five men engage in dangerous expedi-
ton and succeed, the communistic
theory will not be enforced but the sue
cesSful spoilSmen must contribute tax
to their less fortunate fellows. ltis I'M
! derstood that when Americas robbers
raid into Mexico they must pay duty TO
their Mexican brethren before being
granted a peaceful passage across the
| Rio Grande on the homeward trip.
! This rule also works on this side of the
! river. If Mexican robbers make rush
on an American ranch in Zapata, Frio,
Cameron, Hidalgo or Starr counties,
| they are expected TO "divvy" with the
American gentleman engaged u the
same line of business before baing per
mitted to cross the river pea ,efully. Of
course, all the ''swag," no matter how
1t may be divided, is taken out of the
country from which it was stolen. This
for reasons that will suggest themselves,
and hence the necessity for having
good understanding between the rust
lers on both sides.
1t is the frequent disputes over the
division of plumber That keeps the des-
perado population the Rio Grande
thinned down to wieIdy extent. Part
ners will fight and kill each other over
the disposition of a pony. Factions
will fight over the price received for
cargo of hides in Brownsville or Laredo.
Then again, couple of men frequently
tro to do little jobs on their own hook
and keep knowledge of their operations
from the gang. These things engend9r
disputes, and disputes mean shooting
and killing. The mere stamping ont OF
q human life is thought no more of by
these people than the killing of steer
or 'he shooting of q rabbit. They are
always suspicious OF each other, and
never trust to events 10 prove their fore
bod ngS.
The desperadoes are q homogeneous
set. Perhaps representatives in every
state in the union and every country IN
Europe can be found among them.
Mexicans can be found among the